Children need toys so that they can develop properly. They use them to learn about the world in which we live and the playing that they do with them not only helps them practice skills for the future but also lets them see cause and effect.

Toys date back many thousands of years when they were made of naturally occurring materials such as stone, wood and plants. Ancient wooden pull toys have been found by archaeologists in Egypt and spinning tops and rock ’n’ ride toys made from wood have been linked back to ancient Greece. Ancient Roman children played with carved wooden dolls, horses and chariots. Toys would have been made by the child’s family and even by the child themselves as they grew older.

In the Middle Ages, wooden puppets became popular as street entertainment. Ventriloquists would entertain the children with stories acted out by the puppets. Perhaps the most famous puppet, still loved today, is Pinnocchio.

Wooden puzzles came onto the scene in 1760 when John Spilsbury came up with a novel teaching idea. He made the first jigsaw by gluing a map onto a thin piece of wooden board and then cut it into pieces. Geography may become more interesting to children these days if a similar teaching tool were used.

Children who lived in the 19th Century and earlier could never have dreamed of the toy aisles that now grace our shops. They had few toys and treasured those that they did have. For children from poor families, toys were non existent unless they made their own. Times changed with the Industrial Revolution where bulk manufacturing processes took hold allowing costs to go down. New materials such as plastics soon became available and the toy market started to become the big business that it is today.

Wooden toys still have their place in society today as the natural feel and look of handmade pieces are appealing to many. Mass production of wooden toys is also commonplace now that the environmentally friendly and safe toy aspects of such items is getting more widely known.

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